Police work the scene on Monday of the shooting outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont.Sammy Kogan/JOBFlocks
Belleville residents are angry and looking for answers after a shooting outside a synagogue in the Ontario city, the area’s member of Parliament said.
Liberal MP Chris Malette said he hopes the public receives a full account of what led to a man armed with a shotgun opening fire outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue as members gathered to worship on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has said the alleged assailant, 29-year-old Sean Ward, began shooting at Constable Jeff Smith, who was stationed outside the synagogue. A second officer arrived and fired at the suspect, who was injured in the exchange.
Constable Smith was wounded and remains in hospital. Mr. Ward died in hospital on Monday night, according to the SIU, which handles cases involving Ontario police that result in death or serious injury.
“I want to know as much as we can find out about this individual so we can stop this from happening again,” Mr. Malette said in an interview on Parliament Hill on Wednesday.
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Mr. Malette paid tribute to Constable Smith, the Belleville police and the Jewish community in a statement from the floor of the House of Commons earlier in the day. He said residents of his town were “angry, confused, hurt and looking for answers.”
The MP, who was first elected in 2025 to his Bay of Quinte riding, lives two blocks from the synagogue. Mr. Malette visited the site of the incident on Tuesday and also received an hour-and-a-half long briefing from Belleville police.
He said that what he knows about the suspect comes mostly from what’s been reported publicly, but that he also learned from what he saw at the scene.
“What we found out about him just from seeing the scene – this individual clearly came with some intent to do some serious harm to these people, and we saw that graphic detail yesterday,” he said.
Mr. Malette wouldn’t discuss those details or what he was told during his police briefing. He said he promised security officials he would not divulge that information.
Prior to entering politics, Mr. Malette was a journalist. He said he had covered incidents at the synagogue over the years, such as swastikas painted on the walls and broken windows. But as he watched police cruisers speeding by his home on Sunday night, it didn’t occur to him that’s where they were headed.
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He had been barbecuing supper at the time, and said that before he had finished eating, an off-duty police officer phoned to tell him what was going on. He said his next call was from federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
Within an hour after that, Mr. Malette said he had a broader briefing with federal officials. He declined to specify who was on the call, but said Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office had been immediately apprised of the situation.
He praised their quick engagement, as well as the professionalism of local police; some officers who were off-duty put on their uniforms and came to assist that night, he said.
Mr. Malette said he and Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman, who represents a nearby riding, had formed a bond with the local Jewish community after a gunman attacked a Jewish event in Bondi Beach, Australia, last December.
Ms. Kramp-Neuman acknowledged the incident in her own statement to the House on Tuesday, saying significant action is needed to end antisemitism. She offered her support to the community, the police and to Mr. Malette.
“In moments such as these, politics must give way to our shared responsibility to the people we represent,” she said.
The Jewish community in Belleville has been a consistent presence in the city, Mr. Malette said.
“They’ve been there for decades; everybody just knows the synagogue on the corner,” Mr. Malette said. “Nobody pays a mind.”
Mr. Malette said he now worries that Belleville has changed, reflecting on whether the city’s growing Muslim community is also now at risk.
“I worry now in light of this attack what may occur,” he said. “Evil has come to a small city like Belleville.”
He said small communities have their own rhythms, which they normally return to after difficult incidents, but it may be different this time.
“It’s going to be a while coming off this one.”